Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stake in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in United States Steel Co. (NYSE:X - Free Report) by 76.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 14,600 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in United States Steel were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in United States Steel during the second quarter valued at $491,000. KGH Ltd boosted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 68.2% during the 2nd quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 4,255,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $160,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724,670 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Water Island Capital LLC now owns 906,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,250,000 after purchasing an additional 45,567 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of United States Steel by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

X has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of United States Steel in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of United States Steel from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of United States Steel from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of United States Steel from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of United States Steel from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.62.

United States Steel Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE X traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.61. 2,199,561 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,161,450. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $37.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.00. United States Steel Co. has a one year low of $26.92 and a one year high of $50.20. The company has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.87.

United States Steel (NYSE:X - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.12. United States Steel had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 7.93%. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. United States Steel's revenue for the quarter was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that United States Steel Co. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United States Steel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. United States Steel's payout ratio is 8.93%.

United States Steel Profile

United States Steel Corporation produces and sells flat-rolled and tubular steel products primarily in North America and Europe. The company operates through North American Flat-Rolled (Flat-Rolled), Mini Mill, U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and Tubular Products (Tubular) segments. The Flat-Rolled segment offers slabs, strip mill plates, sheets, and tin mill products, as well as iron ore and coke.